Baker Township 5 School

1870 to 1947

The Baker 5 school was located on the corner of 420th Street and Nettle Ave., which was the Center of Baker township
The school was owned by Colleen Lemkuil and was donated to the Sheldon Prairie Arts Council. The school was moved to Sheldon on June 15, 2015. The school was donated in honor of her parents, Howard and Naomi Cleveringa. Sisters Ruth Ann Cleveringa Van Donslear and Vera Cleveringa Petrich were students here. Harold Tuttle was in charge of the project.

The Baker 5 school was first built in 1870 in the boxcar style and in 1936 the present school was built in the square school model with indoor bathrooms and cloak rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. It was built for $750.00 and the lumbar was purchased by the Dystra Lumber Company in Hospers. When the school closed in 1947 students went to Archer, Granville, Sheldon and Paullina. Then the building was used for a town hall and voting. It was also the meeting place for the Busy Bakers girls 4-H club for special occasions-Halloween parties and Mother Daughter tea, etc. And the Baker Bear Cats 4-H Club and the annual hay ride from the Baker school.

Ruth Ann Cleveringa Van Donslear has written up about her 4 years at Baker before she came to the Archer Consolidated School after the school closed.
Joyce Kaiser wrote about her grandmother Esther Sophia Johnson Kaiser.
Darlene Vollink Tiemens also wrote about her time at the school.